A MODEST PROPOSAL:OR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN REVERSE

摘要

There are some risks in such a step. If advisers come who are not prepared to understand the United States, or if American officials ignore the advisers, it can contribute to a worsening of relationships on an individual, if not on a general level. But these dangers can be reduced, although not eliminated, by proper selection and assignment of advisers, and adequate orientation for both the advisers and the Americans. The actual advising will provide the foreign advisers an unparalleled opportunity to understand our government system, and it will make them better able to understand both the process of policy-making and execution in the United States, and the difficulties American advisers have in their own countries. Both of these can lead to better comprehension of the American policies and the difficulties with respect to their countries. The risk is worth taking, for several years at least, in the expectation that the direct and indirect benefits will far outweigh any potential losses from such a reverse technical assistance program.